The Supreme Court is set to hear a batch of more than 200 petitions challenging the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on March 19. The petitions seek a stay on the implementation of the CAA and the Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024. A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, will preside over the hearings.
The petitions come amidst heightened tensions over the Centre's move to implement the CAA, particularly as Lok Sabha elections approach. Among the petitioners are the Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra; Congress leader and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh; AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi; Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia; NGOs Rihai Manch and Citizens Against Hate, Assam Advocates Association; and some law students.
Critics of the CAA argue that it discriminates against Muslims based on religion and violates the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution. The IUML, along with other petitioners, has also challenged the CAA Rules 2024 through which the law was implemented.
Kerala, the first state to challenge the CAA in 2020, has filed multiple cases in the Supreme Court, contending that it undermines the Right to Equality enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
As the case unfolds, the Centre has maintained that the CAA does not infringe upon the legal, democratic, or secular rights of citizens. However, the law has sparked widespread protests and scrutiny since its implementation in March 2024.
The CAA aims to expedite Indian citizenship for migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian communities who fled religious persecution and entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
